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Welcome to 2017!
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Happy New Year to you and yours, dear Fellows! On behalf of the Foundation staff, we hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday break with family and friends. In Maine, we were given the gift of a well-timed snow storm that allowed for excellent outdoor fun, including the rare phenomenon of packed powder skiing. (Westerners, please understand we don't get to say "packed powder" very often!) As we begin 2017 and all its uncertainties, we are busy thinking about ways we can activate and support the Switzer Network in the upcoming political climate. There are conversations taking place with interested Fellows about how we might best use our platforms to elevate your voices and ideas as we enter an era where science and sound reason are easily dismissed, if not outwardly rejected. We invite each of you to read two of Lissa's most recent blog posts about this (links directly below), and our current thoughts on how we can support all of you in the years ahead. Stay tuned for more on that, and read on for upcoming events and conversations that will be of interest.
Lissa's blog posts:
A new climate for climate change activism
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Space reserved for additional "hot topic" networking calls
As you will see below in our schedule of upcoming events, we will be holding our usual bi-weekly Switzer networking calls over the course of 2017. However, we have also reserved time in the alternate weeks for any additional calls that would be helpful to anyone who wants to initiate a conversation with other Fellows on an issue that is time sensitive or on which you are looking for feedback, moral support, technical support, or other. As the new Congress and Trump administration take office, we are ready to support, encourage and embolden each of you to lead and act. Switzer Network members will support each other, now more than ever. As the year goes on, please contact
Lauren or
Erin if you have an idea for a networking call that is action-oriented or geared towards helping you make a decision or frame an idea. We will help you schedule and facilitate the call, and may be able to make suggestions for direct contacts you can make within the Network. Bring it on!
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Special upcoming events
In light of the above, here are several opportunities coming up in addition to our regularly scheduled events. (Our full
calendar of events is listed below.)
- January 19th: Switzer Fellows Policy Briefing with Jason Grumet, Founder and President of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC. Please note, we are fully subscribed for this call, but if you are interested and haven't yet signed up, the call will be recorded! For those of you who are registered, we will be sending access information shortly - the call will be web-based but you will be able to call in with a phone if you do not have access to a computer.
- February 5th: Bay Area Fellows hike at Tennessee Valley Trailhead, Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
- March 8th: Networking Call: Standing Rock and Pipeline Issues led by Switzer Fellow Lisa Feldstein. Lisa is interested in talking with other Fellows about her experience over the course of several weeks at Standing Rock, and wants to hear from Fellows with experience in pipeline issues.
- March 12th: Switzer Fellows dinner - Washington, DC. If you live in the DC area or will be there on March 12th, please join us for dinner! Erin and Lissa will be there with the 2016 Fellows and alumni who are taking the Policy Communications training with COMPASS. We will be venturing out to District Distilling Co., 1414 U Street, NW, for dinner and social time. We'd love to see as many local alumni as possible!
And finally, Fellow
Jasmine Hyman has started a
Google group that all Fellows are invited to join. The purpose of this online discussion forum is to share contacts, advocacy letters and policy positions with each other as we learn more about the incoming Trump administration and its personnel and agenda. Already, we've seen Fellows and colleagues write thoughtful and timely letters to Congressional representatives and others. The letters have been inspiring and have prompted others to write, as well. If you're interested in joining, contact
Jasmine or
Erin and we can add you to the list. (For questions about the content of the discussions or the intentions of the group, contact Jasmine directly.)
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2017 Switzer Fellowships
The application deadline for 2017 Switzer Fellowships was yesterday! We have nearly 260 applications for the 20 Fellowships and we look forward to working with our review teams to choose the finalists who will be interviewed in May. If you are interested in being an interviewer, or know someone who would be good to engage in our programs this way, please let
Erin know. As always, we try to create interview teams that balance Fellows and non-Fellows, different areas of expertise and work sectors, new and experienced interviewers, etc. If we have a diverse list to choose from, all the better.
- New England interviews: Saturday, May 13, 2017 - Boston
- California interviews: Saturday, May 6, 2017 - San Francisco
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Switzer event photos now online!
Have you attended a Switzer event and would like to download your photos? We've added links to our online photo galleries for most network events for the past five years, including the professionally shot images from our 30th anniversary events. You can find them by visiting our
Network Events section of the website and visiting the photo gallery links at the bottom of each listing.
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Here's what could happen if the U.S. pulls out of Paris climate pact
Fellow Kelly Sims Gallagher spoke recently with The GroundTruth Project about Donald Trump's impact on the international relations of the Paris climate agreement, and what effect the U.S. election might have on climate politics in Europe and China.
Read more
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Feeding a Movement: The Kitchens of the Standing Rock Camps
Fellow Elizabeth Hoover recently visited the camp kitchens at Standing Rock and blogged about the food traditions on display in them.
Read more
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Upcoming Events
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 Switzer Fellows Networking Call: Environmental Justice
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 - 12:30 pm ET
For more information
Switzer Fellows Policy Briefing with Jason Grumet
Thursday, January 19, 2017 - 1:00 pm ET
(Note: we are currently oversubscribed for this call, but if you are interested and haven't registered, we will be recording it. We will share the link to the recording with all of you.)
For more information
Switzer Fellows Networking Call: Conservation Science & Biology
Wednesday, January 25, 2017 - 12:30 pm ET
For more information
Bay Area Fellows' Hike
Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 10:30 am PT
For more information
Switzer Fellows Networking Call: Sustainable Agriculture & Food Policy
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - 12:30 pm ET
For more information
Switzer Fellows Networking Call: Standing Rock and Pipeline Issues
Led by Fellow Lisa Feldstein
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 - 12:30 pm ET
For more information
Spring Retreat, Policy Communications Workshop, Washington, DC
Saturday, March 11 - Monday, March 13, 2017
For more information
DC-area Fellows Dinner
District Distilling Co., Washington, DC
Sunday, March 12, 2017 - 6:00 pm ET
For more information
Switzer Fellows Networking Call: Water Resources
Wednesday, March 22, 2017 - 12:30 pm ET
For more information
As noted above, we are holding extra time in the alternating weeks between our regularly scheduled networking calls for any action-oriented or time sensitive conversations you want to have with other Fellows. If you have an idea for an additional networking call that you'd like us to schedule, please contact
Lauren or
Erin.
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Fellows in the News
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Jisung Park's work was featured in a recent op-ed by
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
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A vibrant community of environmental leaders
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